Dynamics of Coronal Bright Points as Seen by Sun Watcher Using Active Pixel System Detector and Image Processing (SWAP), Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), and Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI)

2012/06/01 by K. Chandrashekhar, S. Krishna Prasad, D. Banerjee +3
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Corona (planetary geology) #Detector #Extreme ultraviolet #Extreme ultraviolet lithography #Imaging spectrometer #Laser #Magnetic field #Magnetic reconnection #Optics #Physics #Solar Radiation and Photovoltaics #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Spacecraft #Spectrometer #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Temporal resolution #astro-ph.SR

paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s11207-012-0046-1

arxiv created 2012/06/01 · arxiv updated 2012/06/11 · openalex publication_date 2012/07/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

The Sun Watcher using Active Pixel system detector and Image Processing(SWAP) on board the PRoject for OnBoard Autonomy\todash 2 (PROBA\todash 2) spacecraft provides images of the solar corona in EUV channel centered at 174 Å. These data, together with Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), are used to study the dynamics of coronal bright points. The evolution of the magnetic polarities and associated changes in morphology are studied using magnetograms and multi-wavelength imaging. The morphology of the bright points seen in low-resolution SWAP images and high-resolution AIA images show different structures, whereas the intensity variations with time show similar trends in both SWAP 174 and AIA 171 channels. We observe that bright points are seen in EUV channels corresponding to a magnetic-flux of the order of 10¹⁸ Mx. We find that there exists a good correlation between total emission from the bright point in several UV\todash EUV channels and total unsigned photospheric magnetic flux above certain thresholds. The bright points also show periodic brightenings and we have attempted to find the oscillation periods in bright points and their connection to magnetic flux changes. The observed periods are generally long (10\todash 25 minutes) and there is an indication that the intensity oscillations may be generated by repeated magnetic reconnection.

Citations

• Simultaneous observations of solar transition region blinkers and explosive events by SUMER, CDS and BBSO
• The Magnetic Association of Coronal Bright Points
• A Practical Guide to Wavelet Analysis
• The structure and dynamics of a bright point as seen with Hinode, SoHO and TRACE
• The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)